Trope names with outdated and/or offensive language

god wait yes i love Everybody Loves The Enby

Enby sounds like Envy

When it comes to "Eskimos Aren't Real", why not "Timbuktu Isn't Real"? There are some people who think the city of Timbuktu, Mali is a mythical place.

there's been a lot of suggestions for it, the one i'm most partial to is Reindeer Aren't Real (a very common variant of the trope, as people tend to think reindeer are just santa's magical flying deer rather than an actual species), but it's also been suggested that it could use a name that describes the concept without a specific example. that said, all of the names have come to the problem that they aren't as "snappy" as Eskimos Aren't Real, for as much trouble as it's caused.

Everybody Wants The Androgyne?

I lean towards that over "enby", I think. The trope is more about presentation and appearance than identity.

I like this one, as long as it doesn't cause misuse—does it actually apply to any androgenous looking person regardless of their sex, gender, or orientation?

According to the trope description:

Androgyne's good in that case.

Timbuktu Is Mythical would be a great trope name to replace Eskimos Aren't Real.

I wonder if Attractive Androgyne would roll off the tongue better, but that might invite a lot of out-of-universe misuse a la stuff like Bishōnen.

I like Timbuktu Is A Myth or Timbuktu Is Mythical in a way. Again, there are people who still think Timbuktu is a mythical place.

Those read to us as being about Timbuktu in particular, rather than using it as an example. (Admittedly, Eskimos Aren't Real already has the same problem.)

I was gonna say the same thing. Like, "that's too specific and misleading... but shit the current is too"

We've discussed replacements for Eskimos Aren't Real multiple times, but the final call should wait for its turn on TRS.

I mean, it's better to have plans going forward so that we don't have another Hot Gypsy Woman issue. There's no harm in brainstorming.

Hmm, let me try. Erroneously Dismissed Existence is the cleanest sounding thing I can come up with right now that still describes it.

I hate overly technical trope names like that. It's not clear enough. We could replace "Eskimos" with almost anything else if it's a real problem. Even just "Real Thing Isn't Real."

Well now I just feel stupid for not thinking of that.

i do feel like "everybody wants the [blank]" (enby and androgyne both sound good to me) should stay for that trope name, as it makes it more clear it's an in-universe reaction and that it's about people regardless of gender being attracted to them; Attractive Androgyne is a bit snappier but would definitely just lead to "this character is androgynous and attractive" examples without the in-universe element

Edited by NoUsername on May 20th 2023 at 10:29:31 AM

• Not Believing In Real Thing
• Doesn't Believe in Real Thing
• Thinking Real Thing Is Made-Up

My concern with those is that they sound like names that could easily get confused with Reality Is Unrealistic. To go off the "Erroneously Dismissed Existence" suggestion, maybe "Wrongly Dismissed Existence" might work if you want something less technical-sounding.

I think using an example is far better than any of the clunky Exact Words suggestions, and Timbuktu is a great one. (Reindeer is the other one I remember liking when it came up before, because it seemed oddly common, and maybe not being a proper noun would keep it from sounding overly narrow.) I'm not sure which formulation is best between X Doesnt Exist, X Is Mythical, X Is Just A Myth, or Doesnt Believe In X, though.

I'm less concerned with people thinking that the trope is only about whatever example is in the title when the page already has a wide variety of examples - I don't remember if anyone has done a wick check yet, but I don't think we're worried that the current title is causing misuse, are we?

That's because Reality Is Unrealistic is an audience reaction and Eskimos Aren't Real is an in-universe equivalent... maybe Fiction Is Unfictitious. :P

Edited by Noaqiyeum on May 21st 2023 at 1:53:56 PM

I really, really like Reindeer Arent Real, but I agree that before opting for anything specific it's probably a good idea to do a wick check to confirm how much "literally about Inuit" misuse the current name is attracting. Subjectively I get the sense it's not actually very much, but I'm sufficiently jaded about tropers not reading descriptions that it's worth confirmation.

,The problem is the offensive title, not necessarily misuse, so I agree unless a wick check finds a lot of misuse due to the title, it's better to replace the term "Eskimos" with another undoubtedly real example.

(Idea: whoever does the wick check tallies what real things thought not to exist in-universe come up in examples frequently)

Everybody Wants The Androgyne seems the best to me.

I came up with Alluring Androgyne, but I don't think it sounds better.